Giants' Ben McAdoo: 'Our identity needs to take over' in December

The New York Giants enter the month of December with the second-best record in the NFC and the fifth-best record in the NFL. Head coach Ben McAdoo believes this is the time of the season where the team’s identity must take over.

Related

All season long, the Giants have been working toward being in the playoff hunt in December and making a run at the end of the season. In order to do that, the Giants must rely on the identity they have built in order to further their success.

“It’s December football. This is where the real football begins,” said McAdoo on Monday. “The margin for error is small. This is where our identity needs to take over.”

The Giants have built a very successful season entering Week 13, but they have yet to face their toughest test. Their remaining opponents have a combined record of 34-19-1.

In December, every aspect of the game is important and none is greater than the other. Discipline is needed in all phases of the game and McAdoo believes they have built a team committed to that.

“Sound, smart and tough, committed to discipline and poise,” said McAdoo on what he knows the team identity to be. “December football, everything is important.”

The Giants have not made the playoffs since the 2011 season in which they beat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI but have put themselves in a good position to make a run.

Only a handful of players currently on the roster knows what it is like to play for a championship. The Giants are a young team, but McAdoo is relying on the veterans to get the team prepared.

“We’re going to rely on our veterans to lead. It’s important this time of year that the players spend time together,” said McAdoo. “We need to be mentally dialed-in on our preparation.”